The Not So Perfect Day
by HereToStay91
Summary: What would have happened if Jess never went to the museum with Miss Edmunds? What if Mrs. Aarons didn't allow Jess to go to Washington D.C? Would Leslie still be alive? Would Jess die? Find out!
1. Chapter 1: Unexpected

Disclaimer: This is my first Fanfic, and I don't own ANY of the characters portrayed in this story. The beginning of this fanfic is just like in the novel. The dialogue is the same as well. But…it all changes when Jess gets the phone call from Miss Edmunds. In essence, this Bridge to Terabithia fanfic is about what would have happened if Jess never went to the museum with Ms. Edmunds. Hope you all like it.

Chapter 1: Unexpected  
>Jess's POV:<p>

I woke up to the sound of Dad's truck pulling out of the driveway. It was way too early to be awake, but the pounding rain couldn't get me back to sleep.

_I might as well get up now…_I thought to myself. Since I was up earlier than usual, I put on my T-shirt and overalls on and got out of bed. That didn't stop May Belle from butting into my business—again.

"Where you going?" May Belle asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Go back to sleep, May Belle."

"I can't. The rain makes too much noise."

_That's exactly why I got up. _"Well, get up then."_ If you were up this early, I wouldn't have asked you anything._

May Belle frowned. "Why are you so mean to me?" she whimpered.

_Because I just woke up...you of all people should know that I'm grumpy when I first wake up. _"Will you shut up, May Belle? You'll have everyone in the whole house woke up with that big mouth of yours."

May Belle didn't say a word, but it looked like she was going to cry. I hated it when she did that.

I sighed. "Oh, c'mon, I'm just gonna milk Miss Bessie. Then maybe we can watch cartoons if we keep the sound real low."

She threw her jeans at me. "I'm gonna tell Momma!" May Belle threatened.

I was flabbergasted. _Did she seriously throw her pants at me?_ I threw her pants back at her. "Tell Momma what? How you stand there staring at me when I ain't got my clothes on?"

May Belle got a kick out of that. All she did was laugh and smile as I crossed the kitchen. I darted outside in the pouring rain to milk Miss Bessie.

_I really wish it would stop raining soon.  
><em>

__As I was milking her, I was thinking about if I should tell Leslie I didn't want to swing across the creek since the water was too high. I know she wouldn't make fun of me, but I'd feel pathetic—in a way. Maybe when summer comes around, I'd ask her to teach me how to swim. After pondering all of that, May Belle called me.

"I called ya three times already."

_What did she want now? _I wondered."Called me for what?"

"Some lady wants you on the telephone. I had to get dressed to come get you."

I raised my eye brow. I never got any phone calls. Leslie called me ONCE, and all of the other times the phone rang, it was for one of my parents. But the way May Belle said "lady" it had to have been her: Miss Edmunds.

"Jess?" her voice rang through the receiver. "Miserable weather, isn't it?"

My heart was beating so fast, Miss Edmunds could have heard it through the speaker.

I blushed. "Yes'm" was all I was able to say.

"I was thinking of driving down to Washington-maybe go to the Smithsonian or the  
>National Gallery. How would you like to keep me company?"<p>

_Oh my sweet God. She's asking me to be with her and ONLY her. This is a dream come true!_ I realized I never answered her.

"Jess? You still there?" she called out.

"Yes'm." I said again.

"Would you like to go with me?"

_How could I not_? Yes'm."

"Do you need to get permission?" she sweetly asked.

"Yes—Yes'm. Just-just a minute." I barely said. _I really need to stop saying 'Yes'm.' I sound like a fool._

I tiptoed into Momma's room and saw her lying in bed. She was still asleep.

_Yes! This is my perfect chance! _I shook her shoulder. "Momma?"

She slightly jumped at the sound of my voice, but barely had her eyes open.

_Okay...maybe she'll let me go. She's barely awake. _"Teacher wants me to go to Washington to the Smithsonian."

Momma's eyes shot open. "Washington?"

"Yeah. Something for school." _Come on Momma, say yes._

__My heart dropped when Momma shook her head. "Absolutely not. I didn't sign any permission slips for any field trip." 

"Momma, come on. She just called here a few minutes ago. I had no idea that she was gonna invite me to Washington with her! Please? Can't I go?" 

She started to get annoyed. "No, Jess. I need you around the house today. The house is like a pig sty. Besides, you had the day off yesterday with Leslie. It's pouring outside. There is no way I could allow you to go out in that weather. It's dangerous." 

"But Ma—" 

Momma cut me off. "JESS AARONS! If you talk back to me one more time, you're grounded. Understand me?" 

"Yes M'am…" I quietly left her room. 

As I silently and sadly walked towards the kitchen, I had no choice but to tell Miss Edmunds that I couldn't go with her. 

"Ooh Jess is in trouble!" Joyce Ann mocked. 

"Shut up Joyce Ann!" I yelled. _The brattiest out of all of my sisters had to open her mouth…_

I picked up the receiver. "Miss Edmunds?" 

"Yes, Jess. I'm still here." 

"Sorry for taking so long to answer you. I'm really, really sorry, but I can't go with you today. I really wanted to, but I can't." 

"It's quite alright, Jess. Maybe next weekend?" 

"That would be great. I'll ask my mother when she's in a better mood." 

"Sorry you couldn't go with me, Jess. I'll see you school, dear." 

"Have a nice day, Miss Edmunds." 

As I put the phone back on the receiver, I walked back into the rain and continued to milk Miss Bessie.  
><em>First it rains, then Momma wouldn't let me go out with Miss Edmunds. So much for a "perfect day...<em>I lamented. I thought about Miss Edmunds the whole time and let a couple of tears slip out from my eyes. 

That's all for now! Please read and review and I'll be adding more to this fanfic! =]


	2. Chapter 2: A Hard Day's Work

Disclaimer: Here is Chapter 2, everyone! Sorry for not updating this fanfic…been busy with a couple of things, but thanks for keeping up with this fanfic! I'm glad you are taking the time to read it. Once again, I do not…I repeat, DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS PORTRAYED IN THIS FANFIC. Here it goes! ^_^

Chapter 2: A Hard Day's Work 

Jess's POV:

After I collected all of the milk from Miss Bessie, I darted back towards the house and came back inside. May Belle and Joyce Ann were still watching cartoons as I was dripping wet from the pouring rain.

_There is no way I'll be the only one cleaning the house today._ I thought as I observed what I saw in the living room. There was clutter everywhere. There were food wrappers scattered across the floor, drawing paper, crayons, and pencils were everywhere in sight. The cushions from the couch were in disarray. I didn't realize how cluttered my home was. 

I walked in front of the television and turned it off.

"Hey! We were watching that!" Joyce Ann whined.

"Momma says we have to clean the house, Joyce Ann. Look at how messy the house is."

"Momma said _you_ need to clean the house!" May Belle teased. "She didn't say anything about me and Joyce Ann!"

I sighed. Come on May Belle…if we get this done faster, we could do whatever we want afterwards!"

"What's in it for me, Jess?" May Belle asked.

I was astonished. _She's pretty clever for a six year old..._I mused. "Alright…If you help me clean the house, I'll let you draw in my sketch pad."

May Belle beamed. "It's a done deal! Come on, Joyce Ann! Let's help clean the house!" 

_Gotta love having younger siblings and getting them to help me when I need them._ I thought as I re-arranged the cushions on the sofa. May Belle used the broom while Joyce Ann put all of the clutter into a pile. Momma was about to put up the water for coffee when she saw the progress we made. 

"Now, this is what my family should do more often!" Momma said with a smile. "Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes." 

Within the ten minutes, the living room was spotless. The rest of the house, unfortunately, still needed to be fixed up. 

Brenda noticed the progress as she walked into the living. "Whoa, did we get robbed? The living room is all different."

Momma scowled. "No, your sisters and brother actually had the decency to clean up after themselves. Since you made that comment, you're washing the dishes after breakfast." She ordered. 

After breakfast, I headed towards my bedroom and made my bed. I organized the art set Leslie gave me, and put the pile of closes into my dresser. As I was organizing everything, I noticed it stopped raining. The sun still wasn't shining, but it was better than the pouring rain. 

_Good thing it stopped raining. I'm happy that Miss Edmunds is having a nice day in Washington without the pouring rain...and me. _I sighed. 

_I wonder if Leslie is awake yet... _I wondered. I looked at the clock and saw that it was 11:37. _Perfect time! It's not even noon yet!_

I headed back towards the living room when Momma called me over.

"Jess, I wanted to talk to you about this morning."

_Uh oh. I hope I'm not in trouble._ "Yeah? What is it, Momma?"

"After seeing the progress you made…I just wanted to say that I'm sorry I yelled at you this morning. You know how I get when someone tells me something at the very last minute—especially early in the morning. I like planning things ahead of time so I would know if I needed you to stay home and help out or what not."

"Like I said, Momma, it happened so fast. Miss Edmunds called and asked me to go with her out of the blue. I had no idea that she was going to call me. It was completely unexpected."

"Look, what I'm getting at, Jess…is if I had been told of the trip to Washington D.C in advance, I would have let you go down there."

"Okay Ma…I'll keep that in mind."

"I really am proud of you, though. You did what you were told to do without complaining or whining. You even got your little sisters to help out too. You're starting to become a great role model for them"

"Thanks Momma. That's really sweet of you."

"I know you probably wanted to see Leslie and enjoy the weekend, but I need you to do just one more thing."

_After that nice compliment, you're making me do more work?_ "What's that, Momma?"

"Since it stopped raining, I'd like you to cut the grass before Daddy gets home. After that, you're free for the rest of the day. I already stopped you from going to Washington D.C…I can't take away your freedom by not letting you see Leslie or whatever plans you may have."

"Alright, will do. I'll go over to Leslie's after I'm done then."

"Thank you for telling me, Jess." 

It was a lot warmer than it was before, so I didn't mind being outside. I got the lawn mower out of the shed and began to cut the grass. I honestly loved the smell of fresh cut grass, but not when I was the one mowing the lawn. 

After mowing the lawn, I put the lawn mower back in the shed, and headed back towards the house. Before I could go back inside, a voice from behind me called me.

"Hey Jess!"

It was Leslie.

"Hey Leslie," I smiled. "I was just about to stop over and see if you were home."

"I had to take P.T for a walk…he wouldn't stop yapping." She laughed. "And I wanted to see if you wanted to go to Terabithia since it finally stopped raining."

_The water in the creek is way too high for my liking, Leslie. I really hope you don't mind if we didn't go to Terabithia today. _I wanted to say. "Let's see how high the water is in the creek first."

"Aww, come on, Jess, it can't be too bad! Let's go!" Leslie said as we walked back towards her house. "Let's drop P.T off and we'll go up to the creek!"

The walk back to Leslie's was a little quiet—minus the strategies we came up with incase more monsters attacked Terabithia. We dropped P.T back off at Leslies and headed towards the creek.

"I have so many ideas about how we can add to the tree house," Leslie smiled. "This is gonna be great." 

I smiled and nodded. 

Leslie frowned. "Jess, you seem quiet. Is something bothering you?"

I hesitated and took a breath in. "Leslie, I gotta tell you something." I finally said. 

Yay cliffhangers! What's gonna happen next! Find out in Chapter 3! Read and review! 


	3. Chapter 3: Confessions

Disclaimer: Here is Chapter 3! Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Confessions 

Jess's POV: 

"What is it, Jess?" Leslie asked as she raised her eyebrow.

_Be honest, Jess. Don't lie to your best friend. _"The creek just seems…way too high for my liking. I can't believe I'm saying this, Les, but high water scares me even though we're swinging across the creek, and—"

Leslie's eyes were compassionate. "Jess, you don't need to be ashamed of it. It's because you can't swim, right?"

I blushed. "Yeah…" I sheepishly admitted.

"When it gets warmer outside, I'll teach you how to swim. That way you won't be afraid of swinging over the creek when the water level rises in the future."

_How the hell did she know I was going to ask her if she could teach me how to swim? I swear she's my soul mate. _"Thanks, Les. I really appreciate it."

"Of course Jess!" She exclaimed. "Anything for my best friend." She smiled. "Is there anything else on your mind?"

_I love you, Leslie. You're the greatest person I've ever met in my life. I wish I was as brave as you. _"Yeah, are we still going? It still seems a bit dangerous…for me at least."

"Of course we're going, silly! The Terabithians need us!" Leslie laughed as she grabbed onto the rope. "I promise you, when summer comes around, you'll become the next Olympic swimmer, alright?"

_She just listened to me when I needed her. In fact, she is ALWAYS there for me. This time, I have to do something for her. I gotta face my fears and just get over the whole 'high water' thing. _"Leslie, wait."

"What's up, Jess?"

"Let me swing over first. I gotta man up somehow, right? I can't just keep chickening out just because the river is a bit higher than usual. I can't burden you like that."

"Jess…how could you say that? You never burden me. I always enjoy your company and I understand you like no other person I've ever met in my life."

I was speechless for a few seconds. "You mean that…Leslie?"

Leslie smiled her usual beautiful smile. "Of course I mean it, stupid!" She giggled. "You're the best friend I never had before I moved here."

"I can say the same thing about you, Leslie. I lo—" I stopped myself before I could finish the sentence.

"Were you gonna say something, Jess?"

"I was just gonna say that…I got this." I said as I took the rope.

I took a deep breath and stared down at the creek. _It's just a few feet, it'll be over in ten seconds._

I stepped back with the rope and lifted my feet off from the ground. The sound of the ripping rope was the last thing I heard before the lights went out.

Leslie's POV:

My eyes watched in horror as I watched the rope rip from the tree branch. Jess landed into the water on his back, and his head cracked against the jagged rocks beneath the river bank. 

"Jesus Christ, Jess!" I screamed as I saw blood emanating from his head. Too much blood.

By instinct, I dove into the creek after him.

_Holy hell this is cold!_ I thought, but I furiously swam after Jess as if my life depended on it. No, as if his life depended on it. His life DID depend on it.

The creek's current was fast, and Jess began to sink under the freezing water. There was blood everywhere. If I didn't get him out of there, he would surely die.

I dove under the angry water and grabbed him by the shirt. Jess was still unconscious.

"Don't worry Jess; I'll get you out of here." My voice shook in panic. "I'd die before anything bad happens to you."

I kept his head above the water with one hand and attempted to swim forward with the other.

_There's got to be a shallow end of the river bank!_ I screamed to myself.

As I swam down the creek, I managed to stand up and lifted Jess from the water and got him safely ashore. I laid him on his back. He barely had any color in his face and he wa still unconscious. It looked bad—really bad.

"Jess, for the love of God, PLEASE open your eyes!" I begged as tears began to fill my eyes. "I need you! I love you!" I cried. My hands had blood all over them. I attempted to resuscitate him but nothing worked. He was either going to die of hypothermia or the lack of blood.

"SOMEBODY HELP!" I screamed as loud as I possibly could. I had to get help somehow, but I couldn't leave Jess alone by the creek.

"HELP ME PLEASE!" I screamed again; praying to God that someone could have possibly heard me.

As I attempted to stand up, a figure in the distance came running towards me. It was Bill.

"Leslie! My God, what the hell happened? I heard a scream—"

"It's Jess!" I wept. "He went to swing on the rope and he hit his head on the rocks, and he fell in the creek, and I dove after him—"

"Leslie, I'll try and resuscitate him while you run and get help. Hurry!" He exclaimed. 

Being the fastest kid in the fifth grade, I ran back home in seconds. 

"Leslie, honey, what's wrong? What happened?" Judy asked me. 

"It's Jess; he hit his head real bad. He's by the creek and Bill is with him. I gotta call 911!" I cried. 

"I'll take care of that, sweetheart. You get back to Jess's side right now."

The ambulance came in minutes. They strapped Jess into the stretcher and loaded him into the back of the ambulance. The EMTs had him a heart monitor and raced him to the hospital. As much as I wanted to ride in the back of the ambulance and never leave Jess's side again, I had to do the hardest thing I had to do: tell Jess's parents what happened to him.

What's gonna happen next? Will Jess live? Find out in Chapter 4!

Note: I'm sorry the whole "Leslie Doesn't Die" scenario happened in this BTT fanfiction. I know it's redundant, but I wanted to show my perspective of BTT if Leslie lived. 


	4. Chapter 4: Waiting

Disclaimer: I apologize for the delayed update. I had a lot of stuff going on…regarding college, my band, my job…anyway, here's Chapter 4! I OWN NOTHING. Enjoy! 

Chapter 4: Waiting

Leslie's POV:

_What the hell am I going to tell them?_

_Please God, save Jess. Don't let him die._

_This all of my fault, Mr. Aarons…  
><em>

_Oh my God, I am so sorry, Mrs. Aarons…_

The thoughts I had right there were the only thoughts I had when I sprinted to Jess's house with tears streaming down my face. I couldn't think straight at all.

Mr. Aarons was pulling into the driveway when I approached the premise. My heart skipped a beat and I stopped dead in my tracks.

_It's now or never, Leslie. Tell him now._ I thought.

"Why, hello Leslie. How are—" He studied my face. "What's wrong? You've been crying. Your clothes; your hair; what happened?"

"Mr. Aarons, Jess was taken away by the ambulance. He hit his head when he fell in the creek and—"

"WHAT!" He screamed. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?"

_My God I can't do this... _"He went to swing on the rope and it ripped, and he fell in—"

"Jesus H. Christ…that rope was dangerous. Why the hell—"

Jess's mother came out of the house. "I thought I heard yelling. What's going on out here?"

"Honey, get the kids. Jess is in the hospital. He's been hurt real bad."

Mrs. Aarons practically broke down in front of me. "My God, how did this happen?"

Mr. Aarons took a deep breath in. "There is no time to explain everything right now. Let's go." He turned to me. "Leslie, do you need a lift?"

"No sir, I'm going with my parents. I'll see you there."

Even though the hospital wasn't very far, the ride to the hospital felt like it was hours long. Every second felt like a minute, and every minute felt like an hour. My mind was racing and I couldn't close my eyes. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Jess plummet into the creek. The sound of his head cracking against the rock haunted my mind.

When we finally got to the hospital, we were told that Jess was just getting out of surgery and was getting transferred to the recovery room. We were then escorted to the waiting room.

"As soon as Jess is out of recovery, and after we run some tests, you can see Jesse." A nurse said to us.

When we were finally called to see Jesse, he was on the fifth floor in room 518. I followed his family while Bill and Judy went to the gift shop to get flowers and Get Well cards. When I saw him, my heart dropped. He was hooked up to an IV and a heart monitor. He had bandage wrapped around his head and his face was as pale as the white wall paper in the hospital room. He had a breathing tube attached to mouth. I was mortified.

I held back the tears as his parents were sitting by his bedside. May Belle and Joyce Ann were crying while Brenda and Ellie were sitting on the opposite side of the room. The doctor came into the room. His face looked grim.

"It appears that Jesse suffered a concussion and had some cranial damage. He's lost a lot of blood, but luckily we were able to stop the bleeding. But unfortunately, we don't know when he will wake up. While we were stitching up his head, there were problems with his breathing. He is in a coma."

I nearly collapsed when he said the word "coma." I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to believe that my best friend could possibly die.

_That should be me hooked up the machines. Not him. Jess didn't want to swing over the creek in the first place. But no, I had to pressure him into swinging over the creek. I had to make us go to Terabithia. This is all of my fault. My God, Jesse, I am so sorry...if anything happens to you, I will never forgive myself. Until the day I die..._

"If Jesse does wake up," the doctor continued," there may be some long term affects from everything that happened."

Mrs. Aarons came close to tears. "What kind of long term affects?"

"He might have some memory loss, blurred vision, and impaired speech…"

"Mrs. Aarons broke down in her husband's arms. I cried too.

"Hold good thoughts, everyone. Say a prayer or two." The doctor said as he left the room.

Mr. Aarons turned to me. "Leslie…I know this is hard for you…but I need to know exactly what happened to Jess. Please tell us everything."

I took a deep breath in and did everything in my power to pull myself together. "Jess and I wanted to take a walk by the creek…and since the rope was there…we figured we could swing across the creek. He said he wasn't comfortable swinging across the creek because the water was too high…but I insisted on us going across. I was gonna swing across first, but Jess insisted that he would swing across first…and then when the rope snapped, Jess fell in and hit his head on the jagged rocks…" Tears began to fill my eyes and my voice began to shake. "I dove after him and got him out of the water…but when I tried to resuscitate him…and he didn't respond…I called for help…B—my dad came to Jess's aid…and then Jud—my mom called 911…the ambulance came immediately…and after they took him here…"

"I've heard enough." Mrs. Aarons finally spoke. "I knew I shouldn't have let him go out today…"

I blinked. "What…? What's that supposed to mean?"

"If you didn't pressure him into doing something he didn't want to do, this wouldn't have happened!" Mrs. Aarons snapped. "He wouldn't be in a coma!"

I began to lose control. "Mrs. Aarons I'm so incredibly sorry…I can't stop apologizing for all of this. I can't even begin to—"

"Mary, stop it—" Mr. Aarons attempted to calm his wife down.

"We can't even afford the hospital bills that we're supposed to pay!" She harshly continued. "This incident might put us on the streets! This happened all because of _you_. Ever since you came to town, Jesse stopped helping out around the house and kept ditching—"

"Mrs. Aarons, you have no right to speak to my daughter that way." Judy came to my side. "Leslie has done nothing but being a great friend to your son and this is how you treat her? Shame on you!"

"This is about Jesse, for Christ's sake." Bill said as he put the bouquet of wild flowers on the window sill beside Jess. "No one is to blame because it was an accident. If anything, we will help pay for the hospital bills. Our children are dear to us and we want Jess to get better as much as you do."

"Excuse me," I said as I ran out of Jess's hospital room.

"Leslie, wait!" Bill called after me.

I didn't want any comfort. I knew it was my fault. I knew I was to blame. I couldn't deal with facing with the reality that my best friend was in a coma, and no one knew when he was going to wake up. It could have been days, weeks, months, any day of the year. All I wanted was to be alone; away from the Aarons'. They needed to be with Jess. They were his family.

I waited by the car and cried more than I ever cried in my entire life. All I wanted was to be at Jess's beside, but I couldn't because his family resented me. Bill and Judy came to my side and drove me home.

"Please don't blame yourself, sweetheart." Judy finally said to me. "When we get home, I want you to calm down, take a warm bath, and relax. What you did for Jess today was amazing, and I am so proud of the beautiful young girl you are turning into."

Judy's words made me smile a little. But unfortunately that smile was only temporary. It didn't open Jess's eyes.

Even though the sun was practically going down, I curled up into my bed and escaped from reality. No matter how many times I tried to relax, my mind re-played the events that happened today. After I exhausted myself from crying for hours, I managed to calm down as I slowly drifted to sleep.

That's all for now! I should probably update more often since my summer class finally ended! Chapter 5 will be posted A.S.A.P!_  
><em>


	5. Chapter 5: Downward Spiral

Disclaimer: Here is Chapter 5! Enjoy!

Chapter 5: Downward Spiral

Leslie's POV:

_"Jess...?" My eyes widened with amazement. "Oh my God...you're awake!"_

_Instead of smiling, Jess was frowning; he didn't look happy to see me._

_"Thank God you opened your eyes!" I continued. "You're okay!" I nearly cried tears of joy._

_"Okay...?" Jess glared at me. "What is okay? I'm paralyzed bellow the waist."_

_I froze. "...what?"_

_"The head injury? Remember? The one that YOU caused? Does it RING A BELL?"_

_"No...no I didn't—"_

_"You forced me onto that rope and it snapped, remember? I told you I didn't want to do it but you said 'of course we're going silly!' remember?" He said in a mock tone. "Or are you just plain selfish and don't remember any of it?"_

_My heart felt like it was going to explode. This wasn't my Jess. This wasn't my best friend._

_"You created Terabithia and I believed in your stupidity." He continued. "Thanks to you and your whacked fantasies, I can never walk again."_

_"No..." I shook my head. "Don't say that...please don't say that. You'll be able to walk again...I—"  
>"I CAN'T FEEL MY LEGS, LESLIE!" He screamed. "Don't you get it? I'm going to be a paraplegic for the rest of my life. I'm not even a teenager yet and my life is essentially over..."<em>

_Jess, please...I'm sorry. I'm so very sorr—"_

_"Don't try to fool me with 'I'm sorry'; especially with your crocodile tears. My family can't afford the hospital bills and I can't even do anything to help my family. I never want to see you again, Leslie Burke. You're dead to me."_

"N O!" Those harsh words woke me from the dead sleep with tears exploding from my eyes. My heart rate was beating at an incredible rate. I could have sworn anyone in the house heard it.

"Leslie? Honey, what happened? I'm here." Judy came to my bed side.

"Mommy…" I never called her 'mommy' unless I was in distress. "I had a dream about Jess…he blamed me for causing his accident…" I sobbed.

"Oh, honey…" She hugged me. "My sweet girl…shhh…" She soothed me and rubbed my back like I was an infant again. "Don't cry…"

"I need him so much…even though he's physically still alive…I can't bear the thought of losing him…"

"You won't lose him, baby girl. Your love and friendship will keep Jess alive."

_Did she mean metaphorically alive or physically alive?_ I wondered. That's where it hit me. Regardless of what happens, Jess will never die in my heart.

"Can I…can I see him today?"

Judy smiled. "Of course you can, sweetheart. I'll take you over there this afternoon."

"Thank you…" I sniffled.

"Come downstairs and have some breakfast."

After breakfast I went back up stairs and put on a T-shirt and my cut-offs. The day kept dragging on and on and I couldn't relax. All I wanted at that moment was to see Jess. My stomach was in knots and my mouth was dry.

Hours later, Judy and Bill gave me a ride to the hospital. To my surprise, no one was in Jess's hospital room. I took a chair and moved it to his bedside.

"Jess…" I began. "I know you're still alive in there. I don't know if you can hear me or not…but I want you to know that you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. I really am lost without you, Jess. You truly are my other half and I need you to come back to me. Your family needs you…I need you. I love you more than you could ever imagine. Whether you could hear me or not…just keep fighting. Just open your eyes and come back to us."

I grabbed his hand and stroked it multiple times. I closed my eyes and for the first time in my life, I prayed. I never believed in any God or religion, but I needed someone powerful to bring back my best friend. When I opened my eyes, a couple hours have passed by. I must have dozed off.

"Leslie," Bill tapped my shoulder. "The visiting hours are over. We have to get going."

As much as I wanted to hold Jess's hand and never let go, I sadly took the elevator down to the main level and went home with Bill and Judy.

It was hard waking up the next morning for school. Instead of waiting at the bus stop with Jess, I was standing there all alone. I felt so lost, so alone, so hurt. People were whispering when I took my seat. May Belle walked by me and didn't even say hello. Instead, she glared at me and said "Your fault." 

That hurt a lot. But honestly, I felt like I deserved it. May Belle worshipped Jess and hated that he was in the hospital.

As I sat in my desk in Monster Mouth Meyers' classroom, I felt isolated. Nobody talked to me or looked me in the eyes. After she called took attendance and marked Jess absent, I felt even more alone.

Gary Fulcher poked my shoulder. "So…I heard your boyfriend is in a coma."

I clenched my fists as I glared at him. "Not now, Gary. Don't even start with me."

"You can always kiss him like they did in Sleeping Beauty! Just kiss him and he'll wake up." He gawked.

I socked him right in the face. Everyone in the class stopped and saw what I did.

"DON'T YOU EVER DISRESPECT JESS AGAIN!" I yelled.

"Wow, Gary. First you lose a race to a girl, and then you get beaten up by a girl!" One student laughed.

"Leslie Burke, step outside." Monster Mouth Meyers ordered. 

I marched out of the classroom with my arms folded.

"Leslie, I know about what happened to Jess. I know he's your friend and I know you care about him. I know he provoked you; I've seen him instigate fights many times this year. But you can't sink down to his level. I know you're better than that."

"I had to stop him. I couldn't just ignore him."

"Look, since you attacked another student, I have to keep you for detention after school."

I sighed. "Yes, Mrs. Meyers. It won't happen again." 

It felt like the longest school day of my life. Jess always made me smile and most of all, Jess made me feel alive. When I got out of detention, Mrs. Meyers stopped me.

"Again, Leslie, I truly am sorry for what happened. I'll keep positive thoughts for him."

"Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow."

Please read and review! 


	6. Chapter 6: Falling Into Place

Disclaimer: I am very sorry for taking so long to update. I had technical difficulties with the laptop…and I had a lot of college stuff going on…Here is the LAST CHAPTER! Enjoy! Thank you for keeping up!

Chapter 6: Falling Into Place

Leslie's POV:

I was sitting by his bedside; waiting for Jess to open his eyes again.

_It's been three days..._I thought to myself. If he stayed unconscious any longer, he might be taken off of life support. I couldn't even fathom that thought.

"Jess…it's me…Leslie…" I began. "I really hope you can hear me…but you've got to keep fighting. Please Jess, open your eyes…" Tears began to fill my eyes. "I can't live without you, Jess. I'm nothing without you…"

I stood over him and kissed his forehead while a couple of tears plopped onto his forehead. I held his hand and prayed again. This time, I prayed out loud.

"Dear God…I know I don't say much to you…but I need you now more than ever. Please…with all of your power…give Jess the strength to come back to us. His family loves him and needs him more than anything. Please God; don't take him away from us."

As I closed my eyes and took deep breaths, Jess's heart monitor began to accelerate.

My heart dropped. _Oh no...Dear God this isn't the sign I wanted from you! What is going on with his heart?_

Jess's eyes began to quiver and he moved his right wrist. His eyes opened.

"Jess…?" I calmly breathed. "Do you know who I am…?"

Jess took in a deep breath and slowly blinked. "Don't be silly, Leslie…" He smiled and quietly chuckled a little bit.

"I'm gonna go get a doctor to let him know that you're awake!" _My God, my prayers were answered!_

"But…what happened? Why am I here?" Jess nervously asked.

"I'll tell you everything after I tell someone that you're awake."

I rushed to the main desk on the fifth floor. "Hi, the patient in room 518 is awake."

The receptionist smiled. "I'll page his doctor right away."

I came back to Jess's bed side. "How long have I been here for?" Jess asked.

"It's been about three days now. Do you remember anything?"

Jess hesitated and took a breath in. "I remember walking towards the creek…but after that, everything went blank."

"I really hope you won't be furious with me…but we were going to swing over the creek…I was going to swing over first, but you insisted that you would swing over first. The rope snapped and you hit your head on the jagged rocks."

"I had a feeling that rope was going to rip at some point…but…how did I end up here?"

"I dove after you…and when I got you out of the water…Bill came to our aid. We called the ambulance…and when they told us that you were in a coma…" I choked through the tears. My God, Jess, I was so scared!" I cried as I gave him a gentle hug. "I'm so sorry I put you in the hospital."

"Sorry…? Why would you be sorry?" Jess asked.

_Oh no... Tell me this won't be like my dream. _"You didn't want to swing across the creek because the water was too high."

"No, Leslie. I'm not blaming you for this. If it weren't for you, I'd be dead right now. You saved my life."

It was heartwarming knowing that Jess still cared about me. "I don't know if you heard me or not…but when you were unconscious, I told you that I couldn't live without you…and you were everything to me."

Jess smiled as he held my hand. "It was faint…but I did. Honestly, I couldn't live without you either."

I drew my head closer to Jess as he slowly moved towards me. I was on the verge of wrapping my arms around his neck to kiss him, but we were interrupted.

"Hello, Jesse!" The doctor exclaimed as he walked into the room. "We have notified your family. Now, we will run some tests to make sure everything is okay."

"I'll be back in a little while, Jess." I smiled as I left the room.

I sat in the waiting room anxiously waiting for Jess's test results. As I was reading one of the magazines on the shelf, Jess's family arrived.

I wasn't sure how to react at first. A part of me was convinced that they were still blaming me for causing Jess's accident. But at the same time, I was hoping that they would see that I saved Jess's life.

A half an hour later, one of the nurses called us into Jess's room. We were told that the results have arrived. Before I was able to go to the elevator, Mrs. Aarons stopped me.

"Leslie, I'd like to speak with you."

_If she starts blaming me for causing Jess's accident, I'm leaving. _"Um…yes, Mrs. Aarons?"

"I would like to apologize for saying those hurtful things to you. Now that I see that Jess is awake and is able to speak…he wouldn't have been able to do any of those things if you weren't there when the accident happened. I hope you can forgive me."

_I can't believe she actually apologized to me. I thought she was going to yell at me again. _"It is understandable, Mrs. Aarons. Any mother would react that way if she was told that her son may never wake up again."

"I should not have blamed the accident on you, Leslie. It was unforgivable. Jess would never forgive me if he heard me say those hurtful things to you."

_If he was able to hear me, he definitely heard you. _"I'm just happy that Jess is okay. Let's go see what the results say."

The elevator ride was quiet and awkward. I didn't know what else to say to Mrs. Aarons and I didn't want to look at her because it was rude to stare. We walked down the hall to room 518, and the doctor was already there.

"According to the MRI…it seems that Jess will be able to return to normal health. However, we have to keep him here for a couple of more days to make sure that he doesn't fall into another coma. As for his physical health, he should make a full recovery in a couple of days."

I have never seen the Aarons family so happy before. The love they had for Jess was so strong that it nearly brought tears to my eyes. Even Brenda and Ellie were smiling.

"Hey guys…" Jess began. "Would you mind giving me and Leslie some privacy? I'd like to speak to her alone."

"Of course, Jess." Mr. Aarons replied. "Come on everyone; let's get something to eat downstairs."

The others followed suit. May Belle stopped and looked at me. She smiled and gave me a hug. "I'm sorry about what I said on the bus, Leslie. You're my hero now."

I gave May Belle a pat on the head. "Go with your parents, okay sweetie?"

After everyone left, I pulled up a chair next to Jess's bedside.

"What's going on, Jess?"

"Leslie, I was thinking about what you said before…You kept saying you were sorry. How come you keep blaming yourself for what happened?"

"I had this dream…where you woke up…and when I was so relieved that you were alright…you were so cold and bitter. You were paralyzed from the waist down…and you told me that I was reason why you were paralyzed. You blamed me and you told me you never wanted to see me again…"

Jess was stunned. "Leslie…I could never be angry with you. Even if I did end up being paralyzed from the waist down…you would always be my best friend. My friendship with you would have given me the power to live life."

I was speechless for a moment. "Do you…truly mean that, Jess?"

Jess smiled. "Leslie, my life was absolutely horrible before you moved here. I literally had NO FRIENDS. But then you walked right into my life. Your presence was like light shining down on my midnight dark depression. I don't think I would have been able to live if you never came into my life. Heck…if you ended up hitting your head on the jagged rocks…my God I don't know how I would live my life without you."

Tears of joy began to fill my eyes. "I love you, Jess. I don't really know what love is…but my chest is feeling really warm…and I think that means something."

"I love you too, Leslie. I think the warm feeling in my chest means something too." Jess replied as his heart monitor began to increase.

My friendship with Jess made my life complete and from that moment on, I didn't think of that nightmare ever again, and I began to have faith in God again. This life changing experience allowed me to become a born-again Christian.

About a week later, Jess was released from the hospital. Each day after school, I stayed with him and helped him catch up on all of the work Monster Mouth Meyers assigned us.

"So…is it really true that you punched Gary Fulcher in the face?" Jess laughed.

"You bet it is. I put him in his place, and now he won't mess with us again! Monster Mouth Meyers gave me detention, but it was so worth it. I punched him for the both of us!"

"That's why you're my best friend, Les."

"Hey Jess…I was just wondering...since the rope snapped…"

Jess read my mind and smiled. "I know exactly what you're thinking. I have an idea. Stay here. I got a plan."

Jess came back downstairs with his sketchbook. "Check this out…I was thinking about this while I was in the hospital. Why don't we build a bridge to Terabithia?"

The drawing of the bridge was outstanding. The detailed sketch left me in awe.

"I would absolutely love that! That way no one would ever get hurt again."

Every day after school, we took the lumber from my backyard and slowly but surely build the bridge little by little. We measured the width of the creek and sanded down the wood so we wouldn't get splinters.

Within a week, the bridge was complete.

"I hope the Terabithians took care of themselves while we were gone." Jess said as we walked towards the newly built bridge.

"Actually, Jess…I think the accident gave the Terabithians the strength to defend and strengthen this beautiful land. They even did some work while we were gone. Take a look around. "

Just as I expected, the tree house we built months before transformed into a sturdy and durable stone castle with high robust walls with vines embellished all around it. Peace and harmony filled the air. As we walked across the bridge hand in hand, the Terabithians welcomed the return of their dearly beloved king.

Well guys, this story has finally come to an end. To those of you who kept up with this, THANK YOU SO MUCH for reading! If you enjoy my work, please subscribe to me. That way you can check out my future fan fictions! Once again, THANK YOU SO MUCH! Please read and review! 


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